


Spark

by 0bviousLeigh



Series: Yuma is a Girl [26]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal
Genre: Gender or Sex Swap, Labyrinth References, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-01
Updated: 2017-11-01
Packaged: 2019-01-28 00:04:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12593556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/0bviousLeigh/pseuds/0bviousLeigh
Summary: It's the night before the WDC finals, and there's a gremlin on the prowl.





	Spark

**Author's Note:**

> A double update?! Surely it must be a Halloween miracle! But this is a (relatively) short chapter so I wanted to get it out there. This is a rewrite of episode 60.

Yuma can tell her friends are dying to ask her about her relationship with Ryoga and what it means for her relationship with Astral, but they wouldn’t dare ask her with Ryoga standing right there. Instead, they ask her what the heck happened to Kotori.

“She took an audio recording of Tron threatening to do illegal things to my sister,” Yuma says.

“Huh?” Takashi asks, “You mean an audio recording of Tron threatened to do illegal things in general, or illegal things to your sister?”

“The first one,” Yuma clarifies. She explains everything that went down in the duels—she’s got a long time to do so, it’s quite a walk back to her house. She skims over some of the more disturbing details, like the chains that wrapped around her body, and the more intimate ones, like all the times she kissed her boyfriend. But she finishes up by saying, “And it’s going to make Akari the top freelance reporter. I bet she’s having a field day as we speak.”

Sure enough, when they all arrive at the Tsukumo house, Akari runs right up to Yuma and hugs her tightly.

“I can’t believe I allowed you into this tournament with that thing,” Akari says, “But oh my god you have just delivered me the scoop of a lifetime!”

Yuma laughs. “You’re welcome,” she says, “Just don’t publish it until after the tournament.”

“No worries on that front,” Akari says, “I gotta attempt to interview Thomas anyway, but I have got that audio backed up and secured like the dang Imperial palace itself.”

Kotori pokes her head out of the kitchen. “Hey there!” She says, “How was the duel?”

“Oh, you know,” Yuma says, stealing a spoon out of Kotori’s hands, “I cried, I laughed, I threatened bodily harm—the usual.” She slides into the kitchen and steals a taste of soup from the stove.

“Back off!” Grandma commands, “Go wash up and wait for everything to be done!”

Yuma leads everyone to the bathroom and they all fight for elbow room at the sink. It’s funny for Yuma to watch her friends dance around Ryoga like they’ve encountered a stray cat, unsure if he’s friendly or not. Yuma flicks water at Ryoga’s face and laughs as he scowls at her.

“Fish out of water,” Yuma teases.

Ryoga throws the hand towel at her.

Akari isn’t present for dinner, she’s in her room writing up a draft of her article. Grandma pours orange juice into champagne glasses and hands them out to everyone, and Tetsuo leads them in a toast.

“To Yuma and Shark—or um, should I call you Ryoga?”

Ryoga scowls. “It’s Ryoga-san to you.”

“Right-o!” Tetsuo says nervously. “To Yuma and Ryoga-san, ganbatte!”

Everyone raises their glass and echoes the toast. Yuma wraps her arm around Ryoga’s waist and clinks their glasses together.

“What are you going to do if you have to duel each other?” Kotori asks them.

Yuma glances at Ryoga. “Give it our all,” she says, as Ryoga answers, “Throw the match.”

Tokunosuke chokes on his drink. “Ehh?” He asks.

“What he said,” Yuma says, staring down Ryoga.

“Think about it,” Ryoga says, “If we duel each other, that means Kite will duel Tron. I can’t begin to guess who will win that, but both of them are Numbers holders. If you beat me and face one of them, that means that you’ll be that much closer to having all the Numbers.” He looks down at the two rings on his hand. “Plus…I don’t know, part of me hoped that beating Thomas would break some kind of hold on Rio and let her wake up. Obviously that wasn’t the case, or I would have heard from the hospital, but maybe if Tron is defeated…” He shakes his head. “Either way, I want to be able to go to her if she wakes up. Can’t do that if I’m in the finals.”

Yuma pokes his cheek. “Well you can’t just throw the match.” She frowns. “Besides, I have a feeling that sneaky little gremlin will try to pull some crap.”

“Let him try,” Ryoga says. “He has no power over me.”

After dinner, Yuma walks her friends out and to the corner of her block. She wishes them a good night and tells them to bring their cameras tomorrow. Ryoga makes to leave as well, and Yuma asks him to stay, but he says that he has to go—he wants to see Rio and check on his guest as well. Yuma knows he means Hart, so she kisses him and says that she’ll see him tomorrow.

Yuma goes upstairs and takes a shower—she’s amazed at how filthy she got during the tournament. She takes a quick look through her deck, making sure everything looks okay, and then she calls Kite through their secure communicators.

“Is Orbital with Hart?” She asks as Kite answers.

“Yes,” Kite says. “He’s okay, no major changes.”

“And how are you?” Yuma asks.

“I’m…okay,” Kite says. “I heard Ryoga beat Thomas.”

“Yeah, and Thomas disappeared much the same way Chris did.”

Kite sighs. “And then there was one.”

“Tron,” Yuma says. “I have a bad feeling he’s going to try something on Ryoga, but I couldn’t convince him to stay at my house for the night.”

“Mmm,” Kite says. “Well, I have a feeling that he’ll be able to push off Tron’s influence. I saw that he accompanied you during your duel.”

“Well, he is my boyfriend,” Yuma shares. “I had him and Astral by my side.”

Kite is quiet for a moment, and before Yuma can ask if she’s weirded him out, Kite surprises her by saying, “I’m almost envious of you.”

“How so?” Yuma asks.

“You’re so…open,” Kite says. “And it’s so easy for you to trust people and let them into your life.”

“Well, it’s not that it’s easy for me,” Yuma says. “It’s just…I choose to believe the best about people until they give me reason to think otherwise. And that wasn’t always the case, remind me to tell you about my year in a duel gang sometime. But you know, if you want more friends, I’d be glad to introduce you to mine. I can give you my word that they’re good people, and we would all stand by you and Hart.”

“I’d like to believe that,” Kite says. “It’s just…there’s still the matter of my father’s deal with Barian world. Even if Hart wakes up, I don’t know what it’ll mean for both of us, and I’ve already hurt a lot of people, I don’t want to drag anyone else down.”

“Aw, Kite!” Yuma says, “You’ve grown up so much!”

“What are you talking about?” Kite asks gruffly.

“You went from stealing numbers and souls to wanting to protect people!” Yuma says with a giggle. “I’m so proud of you!”

“Oh, hush,” Kite says. “I gotta go. You should get some rest.”

“It’s nice to know you care!” Yuma shouts as the call disconnects. She laughs and puts the communicator aside, and rolls over to face Astral. “Did you hear that?” She asks excitedly.

Astral nods. “I did. Kite really has grown, and it’s thanks to you.”

Yuma beams. “You know, as crappy as this day was overall, I guess some good stuff came out of it.” She moves closer to Astral and puts her arm over his waist. “I let the world know Ryoga and I are dating, Akari got the scoop of the year and is going to use it to out Tron as a creep and the WDC as a farce, and I learned that Kite wants to make friends.”

Astral cups his hand against Yuma’s face and brushes his thumb under her eye. “You are an incredible human being, Yuma,” he says quietly, “But I worry about you.”

“How come?” Yuma asks.

“Your anger is justified, but it makes me concerned for what would happen if you were to face Tron.” Astral bites his lip, hesitating a moment before he says, “I worry what the Numbers would try to do to you.”

Yuma’s first instinct is to brush off that thought, but she would be lying if she did. “I…think about that, too,” she says. “Dad was so big on friendship. I think that’s what ended up getting him into this whole mess with Faker and Tron in the first place. Dad would want me to forgive Tron, and Faker, but I’m not my dad.” She looks down, away from Astral. “Actually, back when I was in the gang…Red used to say I was too prone to violence. I was always the first to ask why we didn’t just punch someone out and take what we wanted. She said I’d end up in jail if I kept up that attitude. And I have been kinda violent lately. I worry that I’ll try to assault Tron instead of duel him.”

“Ah,” Astral says. “Well, think of it this way—Numbers can only be gained by victory in a duel. If you knock Tron unconscious, we might not get his Numbers, and we’ll be further away from starting the airship in the Key and possibly using it to locate your parents.”

Yuma looks up once more and laughs. “Oh wow, that is a good way to think of it! Very logical.”

Astral grins and touches the tips of his fingers to Yuma’s mouth. “I do love your smile so much,” he says.

Heat spreads through Yuma’s body, starting from her heart and reaching to the tips of her toes and fingers. Astral pokes her cheek.

“You’re blushing,” he informs her.

“You made me,” she tells him.

 

* * *

 

 

Ryoga sits on Rio’s bed and takes her hand. Her nails are growing out, he needs to either cut them himself or ask one of the nurses to do it. Her hair is damp—the nurses must have just washed it. Her face is relaxed, and the heart monitor next to her shows a steady beat.

“I finally know why this happened,” Ryoga tells her. “It was my fault. This maniac wanted, and I’m quoting him here, darkness to grow in my heart so he could use me to get revenge on someone.” Ryoga snorts. “Stupid, right? I guess it’s because, I don’t know, I’m a good duelist? If I’d been a sucky one, maybe this wouldn’t have happened.”

He looks down at his hand and at the two rings he wears. Rio won them at a carnival when they were kids, and begged him to wear one so they would match. At first he said no, but after their parents died, he put it on and only took it off to switch it to other fingers as he grew up. The doctors gave Rio’s ring to him the day she came to the hospital, saying that it was a miracle the metal hadn’t melted to her skin. He’d worn it every day since, though he could have given it back to her. For so long he’s worn it as a reminder of where he’d come from and what he was working towards. But now, he doesn’t think he needs that physical reminder. He carries Rio with him in his very soul. So he takes her ring off his finger, and places it back on her own. Her fingers are so slender, the ring still fits perfectly.

“How very touching,” says a childish voice.

Ryoga stands up, balling his hands into fists. It’s Tron—Yuma was right, he was planning something. But he won’t get away with whatever it is.

Hands cover Ryoga’s eyes, and his heart skips a beat, then speeds up.

 _‘For my will is as strong as yours and my kingdom is as great,’_ He says to himself as Tron’s hands squeeze his head.

 

* * *

 

 

In the dream, Yuma stands in front of a wood cabin, situated in the middle of a clearing. It looks like something out of a Disney movie, with flower petals blowing in the breeze. She looks to her side and sees Astral, and when she looks back to the cabin, Hart is standing on the front porch.

“Hart!” Yuma cries. She runs to the cabin, stopping at the stairs leading up to the porch.

Hart smiles. “I knew you could do it,” he says.

“Do what?” Yuma and Astral ask.

“Save my brother,” Hart says. “He’s changed because of you, I can feel it. But he’s not totally safe yet.”

“What do you mean?” Yuma asks. “What do you know?”

“I know that Tron always has another plan,” Hart says. “I saw inside his mind, and it’s a scary place, but he’s smarter than you think. He wants my brother to weaken himself, he wants to use me to do it.” Hart looks down. “I’m stuck here. I’ve tried leaving, but I just can’t seem to do it. So Yuma, can you please look after Kite for me? Remind him that I’ll always love him, and I know he did his best for me.”

Yuma feels tears sting her eyes, but she nods. “I will, Hart. And Kite loves you, too. You know that, don’t you?”

Hart nods and smiles. “Bye Yuma, Astral.”

 

 

Yuma sits up, tears streaming down her cheeks. She hugs her knees to her chest and sobs into them.

“Shh,” Astral says as he wraps his arms around her. “It’s going to be okay. We’ll make sure that it is.”


End file.
